Benefits and Right to buy

Fallow

I have been disabled most of my life. My father has always paid for Aids and Equipment that Social Services did not help with. I have found out that I have the Right to Buy my Council House and my father thinks that it might be a good idea. He would give me a lump sum to buy it outright. He thinks that if I owned the house he would be able to put in major Adaptations which would make life easier and more pleasant. However, how would it affect my benefits. If I suddenly had such a large amount wouldn't it affect my ESA? Are there any other pitfalls I should look out for?

booksurr

when your father is dead how much will you inherit and will you be able to afford to maintain the property you then own. No one else will pay for repairs unless you intend to fall back on charity for everything

Fallow

Thank you for your reply. My father has set up a small family trust which could give me enough to maintain the property. I would love to be independent of benefits and if I bought the property it would save the govt paying me Housing Benefit at least. But I don't want to dwell on politics. I have MS and am looking at a future of being spoon fed and people wiping my bum for me. I want to know if buying my house would be the best thing to do.

densol_2

Why not post on the tax credits and benefits forum ? There are some experts over there that will know if the lump sum given to you by your father will affect your benefits as you intend to buy your home with it. I've no idea :-(

Also tho - there are some benefit " police " over there that may give you grief,

All the best

Mojisola

densol wrote: »

Why not post on the tax credits and benefits forum ? There are some experts over there that will know if the lump sum given to you by your father will affect your benefits as you intend to buy your home with it. I've no idea :-(

It wouldn't affect your benefits - you are allowed to spend a windfall on buying your own home.

Fallow

Thank you for that, I think I will do that. Can you advise me about getting Solicitors, Surveyors involved and about stamp duty. I have contacted one solicitor and he just sent me a list of his charges which was quite mind blowing. I didn't know what half of the items were about!

Tansy_1980

I would check first to see if the council or housing association is required to carry out the adaptations you need (they may have an obligation to carry out certain adaptations on foot of a recommendation from an Occupational Therapist). Once you buy the property you become financially responsible for all repairs from then out. You'll also need to pay towards group work schemes and maintenance for the estate. Get proper advice from Shelter or similar before deciding to do this. Currently, you have a home for life and your landlord may be required to adapt the property to accommodate your disability. In NI, where right to buy has applied to HA tenants and NIHE tenants for many years, there were a number of tenants who bought during boom years only to end up losing their homes through mortgage default. Had they remained tenants, they'd still have their homes. Make sure you understand all the pros and all the cons before making your mind up.

[Deleted User]

Becoming a leaseholder of a council property has it's downsides:
- you are responsible for service charges
- you are responsible for repairs that you might want, inside your home
- you have to pay if the council decides to do major works to the structure of your home, e.g. new roof.
- you may still have to ask permission if you want to make structural changes, e.g. widening doors or removing walls inside your home. This is certainly the case with flats, maybe houses is different.

In some ways, you might be more secure if you keep your council tenancy (depending on how much your trust fund might be to keep you secure as a home owner). The downside is that you need adaptations that social services have turned down paying for. Can you look into this again?
- are there grants available?
- something under the decent homes scheme?
- disability discrimination act to make the council provide you a home that meets your needs, or at least, grant you permission to make the changes you need?
- ask shelter for advice
- ask MS charity for advice

best of luck!

Fallow

Thank you all for your great advice! The HA will do basic adaptions but my father has the money to make a kitchen where I can eg. lower or raise units as I can usually stand but for periods have to use a wheelchair. I can have more surfaces and cupboards that I can reach. I could put in outside doors that open with a key fob allowing me to come straight in on my scooter without fiddling with keys or having to ask s/o to open the door for me. Many things like that which the HA wouldn't do. They would allow me to do them but I would have to 'put it back to standard layout with regard to heights etc' if I ever moved.
You have all given me some things to think about and check up on. Thank you!

Cheeky_Monkey

Wouldn't you be better off if your father just bought you a bungalow?

knightstyle

Just be aware that after purchasing you will have to pay for any works to the building that the HA may deem ned doing. There have been some horror stories where owners have been billed for £1000s soon after buying with no advance notice and little time to pay.